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The 50 MegaWatt trigger on the NSW Solar Bonus Scheme is fast approaching.

“New England residents, businesses, community groups, government authorities & farmers
wanting to access the NSW Solar Bonus Scheme to earn income for generating renewable energy (solar, wind) need to act now,” said Adam Blakester, Co-Coordinator of the Farming the Sun, the first major initiative of the New England Sustainability Strategy (NESS).

A range of industry sources in contact with NESS have indicated that the 50MW trigger is likely to be reached as early as the end of May or early June 2010 based on Renewable Energy Certificate data, which lags installations by 0-2 months on average.

“According to industry sources and projections by solar energy consultancy SunWiz it seems that there has been a very fast take up of the Scheme – which only began on 1 January 2010,” continued Blakester. “NESS has not been able to source publicly available NSW Government information regarding the actual level of utilisation of the NSW.”

Once the 50MW limit is reached a formal review of the Scheme will take place.

“While it is likely the NSW Solar Bonus Scheme will continue in some form,” added Blakester, “the actual outcomes of the official review are of course unknown.”

Industry commentators indicate that two aspects of the Scheme that are most likely to be considered as part of the review are to the rate of payment (currently upwards of 60cents per Kilowatt Hour) and grid connected system sizes (currently up to 10 Kilowatts).

“The key message for the New England community is that to take advantage of the substantial financial benefits of the current Scheme they need to act now!” said Blakester.

The incentives through the Farming the Sun community enterprise can add up to a massive 66% saving on retail prices for new solar power systems, plus generate income of $1,000 per year per kilowatt installed. Protection from rising electricity prices by shifting to renewable energy is also a key step away from traditional coal-based sources that are threatening water systems, agricultural landscapes & the climate.

The NSW Solar Bonus Scheme is available for both new and existing grid connected solar and wind energy systems up to 10kW in size, for residential, business, community & government.

For more details about accessing the NSW Solar Bonus Scheme, going solar or Farming the Sun contact Liz Gardiner, Co-Coordinator, on 6778-7249 or go to www.ness.wikidot.com.